Feu Follet: Ministry of Rites - GRID

The superb Ministry of Rites - GRID yields a paradigm for the present day advancement electronics-based music's transmission of depth of expressionism. Amid numerous sound-shaping textures and an abundance of coherent mini-themes, Tobias Fischer and Rent Romus recorded this album remotely without any predefined musical borders. While they often project a mammoth wall of sound, it's all engineered upon mind-altering sonic-scapes and other curiously interesting facets.

The duo slams the psyche into submission, while offering numerous mind-bending propositions. At times there are streaming sounds of a river intermixed with notions of high-decibel machinery gone awry. Other passages are designed with analog wave forms, counterbalanced by Romus' yearning upper register sax lines along with effects-treated voices that spark notions of alien communication, prompting the mind to wander and create.

Feu Follet marches to the beat of a different drummer, as the artists occasionally fuse odd-metered rhythmic elements into shadowy drones and swirling church organ motifs. Contrasts and thought-provoking muses are in abundance, while "Saturine Shores" features Romus' sublime alto sax choruses against harrowing backdrops. The duo also conjures up an impression of despair, shaded with a doomsday narrative, where lucid imagery looms as a prominent manifesto. Compelling, enchanting and chock full of multi-hued emotive attributes, it's a significant work that should not be overlooked.

I grew up listening to my father's jazz records and listening to the radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy

I grew up listening to my father's jazz records and listening to the radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy. So music and jazz specifically have been a part of me since I was born. I love and perform in all styles of music from around the world. Improvisation in jazz is what drew me in, and still does as well as other genres that feature improvisation. A group of great musicians expressing themselves as one is the hallmark of great jazz and in fact all great music.